Friday, August 22, 2014

Cyclists descend across the continent

The Iron Curtain Trail is the brainchild of Michael Cramer, a member of
the European Parliament with the German Green Party who was inspired to
promote the idea having seen the success of a similar cycle project
along the site of what was once the Berlin Wall.

The sights include;

Along
sections of the trail in Germany, plaques have been placed to mark where
people, attempting to flee to the West, were shot dead by border
police. "By leaving these historical features in, it is as though one is
riding through an open air museum," said Cramer.

Nostalgic?

The
trail, nevertheless, does show how a divide remains between the two
sides. The trail would have gone through Russia but according to the
trail's website, visa difficulties meant the path goes on the Finnish
side of the border rather than the Russian. The trail also noticeably
hops from the bottom of Finland to Estonia rather than going through
Russia.